The overhaul which has seen 90% of London's Westminster constituencies having their boundaries changed, has provided mixed news for sitting local MPs.

For Wandsworth the report proposes:
"In the Borough of Wandsworth, we propose a Putney constituency that is expanded to include the Fairfield ward from the existing Battersea constituency. We noted that to include another neighbouring Wandsworth ward in this constituency would take the electorate over 5% above the electoral quota."

We propose to include the Merton ward of Wimbledon Park, from the existing Wimbledon constituency. We noted that the existing Battersea constituency had an electorate within 5% of the electoral quota, but we considered that changes made to neighbouring constituencies made it difficult to retain the constituency as unchanged."

The report for further afield in the borough continued:
"The electoral size of the wards in
Wandsworth made it difficult to create
constituencies within 5% of the electoral
quota without dividing wards. To avoid
this, we propose three constituencies that
contain parts of the boroughs of Lambeth
and Wandsworth. Therefore we propose a Streatham and Tooting constituency that
contains four Lambeth wards and four
Wandsworth wards, a Battersea and Vauxhall
constituency that contains four Lambeth
wards and four Wandsworth wards, and a
Clapham Common constituency that contains
three Lambeth wards and five Wandsworth
wards. The remaining eight Lambeth wards
are included in our proposed Brixton
constituency."
Justine Greening, local MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields, says, “I think the Boundary Commission’s initial proposals are interesting and for us locally, it is could mean the Putney constituency will be expanded to included Wimbledon Park ward and Fairfield ward in Wandsworth, part of which was included in Putney at the 2005 election.

"Looking forward, there will be lots of discussions that take place on how the proposals will effect communities and I’d like to know what local people feel about the proposals for Putney so I can feed them into the Boundary Commission’s consultation, so do get in touch with me on greeningj@parliament.uk .”

The Boundary Commission for England reviews Parliamentary constituency boundaries every five years. In this review they were aiming to standardise the electorate of constituencies hence the large number of changes to existing boundaries. The rules contained in new legislation state that every constituency in England (except two covering the Isle of Wight) must have an electorate of between 72,810 and 80,473 - that is 5% either side of the electoral quota of 76,641. The new constituencies are likely to be the ones used for the next election which is currently expected to be in 2015.

They are consulting on their initial proposals for a 12-week period, from 13 September 2011 to 5 December 2011. They are encouraging everyone to contribute to the design of the new constituencies. There will also be public hearings to discuss the changes.

The London region comprises the 32 London boroughs and the City of London. The region currently has 73 constituencies but this will fall to 68 if the new proposals are adopted.

You can also contribute to the consultation by writing directly to: BoundaryCommission for England, 35 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BQ. Or email london@bcommengland.x.gsi.gov.uk.
September 16, 2011